A total of 16 countries in Europe have compulsory military service, but only a small number have actual conscription with potential criminal sanctions for those who do not respond to the call-up. Armies generally have a sufficient number of volunteers. Greece has the strictest system, and Sweden and Denmark have the most liberal.
Finnish
For years, one of the happiest countries in the world - Finland, has never abolished the obligation to serve in the military. Finland also has the most transparent system - where all information, down to the smallest details, is available to the public in Finnish, Swedish and English. The names of the officers, the physical requirements and the way recruits are tested are not secret.
Every year, around 21.000 young Finns serve in the army for 165, 255 or 347 days. It all depends on which branch or service of the army they are in.
Training for soldiers lasts three months. Basic training lasts a month and a half, and specialist training also lasts a month and a half. As in the Serbian Army, for example.
There is also cyber conscription. After a month and a half of basic training, soldiers go to specialist centers for cyber defense. In case of war, they are responsible for the cyber defense of their homeland - Finland.
In the barracks of the Finnish Defense Forces, soldiers sleep in rooms with eight to 12 beds, and the bathrooms are shared. In the field, soldiers are housed in tents for 10 to 20 people and are heated by a wood stove.
Official data says that 3.000 young people file a conscientious objection and serve as civilians. About 23 percent of young people, according to the criteria of the Defense Forces of Finland, are not fit for the army.
Sweden
One of the countries that reinstated military service is Sweden. It is interesting that until 2010, only men were required to serve in the army, and when the obligation was reinstated in 2017, women also apply for conscription.
However, the obligation is formal, because every year out of 120.000 young men and women who are fit for the army, slightly less than 5.000 put on the uniform. Everyone is required to register on the web portal, fill in the instructions and then the army chooses. The selection process includes young people who indicated in the questionnaire that they would serve in the army. Thus, the Armed Forces of Sweden receive realistically motivated and ready recruits.
Military service lasts four to 11 months, and then soldiers are transferred to the reserve or continue training in the armed forces, if they want to be officers and non-commissioned officers.
Norveลกka
Norway has a similar hybrid system. All young men and women who turn 18 fill out a questionnaire. And there are about 60.000 of them per year. Then, slightly less than one third or 17.500 young people are invited to the recruitment centers and the army chooses 8.500 of the most physically fit. Of that number, about 7.500 successfully completed military training. A third of the recruits are women.
After military service, which usually lasts 12 months, soldiers transfer to the reserve or continue training for non-commissioned officers and officers. Reservists have numerous privileges when employed in public services.
Danish company
Denmark also has formally mandatory, but realistically voluntary military service. Young Danes have all the information about military service in the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Denmark and where, when and how they can apply. Military service lasts 8 months for most recruits, and 9 to 12 months in some units of the Royal Guard.
The conditions are excellent, that is, there is a high standard in the barracks. But that's why psychophysical standards are high and more demanding than other armies. Official data says that in 2022, out of about 39.000 young people, 15.419 were fit for the army, or only 40 percent. Of that number, 4.717 served in the army, and 523 in civil service. By comparison, in 1999, out of 30.000 young men, 57 percent were fit for the army.
Estonia
The only ex-communist country, a member of the European Union and NATO that has never abolished conscription is Estonia. The largest number of recruits serve eight months, and reserve officers, non-commissioned officers, members of the telecommunications and cyber defense ranks serve 11. The first four months are individual basis and specialist training, and the rest is collective training within a specific military unit. Training takes place as close as possible to the residence of the recruit.
After completing their military service, soldiers are assigned to units according to the territorial principle. So that in a potential armed conflict, people would know each other, have greater mutual trust and know well the terrain they are defending against a potential aggressor.
There is a civil service. Out of about 6.500 young men who come of age each year, about 3.500 serve in the army. Civil service lasts 12 months.
Latvia
From January 1, 2024, the army is mandatory in Latvia. During the whole of 2023, there was voluntary registration, as a way of acclimating the public to military service. 300 people applied for the first call for 468 places. During the whole of 2022, a total of 1.239 young Latvians volunteered to serve in the army. There is no public information that the military needs for people.
For now, the army has about 6.700 uniformed members and 17.400 reservists in military and National Guard units. The official position of the state is that it will not send military invitations for compulsory service as long as a sufficient number of people volunteer.
Lithuania
Another one of the few countries that abolished conscription in 2010, then reinstated it in 2015. Although conscription exists, the computer program that selects who will serve in the military and the low need for recruits result in only a small number actually serving in the military.
Out of a total of 23.000 young Lithuanians who annually qualify for the army, only 3.500 to 4.000 serve in the armed forces. Employers receive a six-month subsidy if their employee is selected for military service. For all conscripts, the military service lasts 9 months, after which most of them go to the reserve, and a smaller number are activated as professional soldiers.
Belarus
One of the most rigid systems has Belarus, which has never abolished military service. A total of 45.000 young men are trained annually for the army. Military service lasts 18 months for soldiers with secondary education and 12 months for those with higher education.
According to official data in 2020, 2021 young men were sent to military service in 6.000, and 2022 in 2023 and 10.000. Although the number of recruits is growing, most still do not serve for various reasons, mostly medical. The penalty for not responding to a summons is up to 5 years in prison.
Austrija
In a referendum in 2013, Austrian citizens rejected the abolition of the obligation to serve in the military. In the last few years, the number of people of military age has been around 30.000, and on average 55 percent or 16.000 serve a military term of 6 months, and 45 percent or 14.000 a civilian term of 9 months.
After military service, soldiers are transferred to the reserve of the Austrian army. A smaller number get hired and become professional soldiers. There are cases and there is a possibility that after military service the recruit signs a contract for 3 months of work in the army and receives a monthly salary of 3.700 euros.
Switzerland
One of Switzerland's strongest traditional values โโis military service. In the 2013 referendum, the Swiss overwhelmingly rejected the abolition of conscription. Military service lasts 18 weeks of basic training and an additional 18 weeks for reserve NCOs and 22 weeks for officers. After that, young people are reservists for nine years, and officers and non-commissioned officers remain reservists until the age of 65, in accordance with their rank and duties.
In order to improve the state of human rights, from the beginning of 2023, in addition to Catholic and Protestant, Switzerland also introduced military chaplains for Muslims and Jews.
Employed recruits are paid six francs a day. The law prohibits the dismissal of a recruit or reservist in training. Those who do not serve in the army pay a tax of three percent of their annual salary for 11 years in a row. Civil service for conscientious objectors lasts 180 days.
Official figures say that of the 42.000 young people who turn 18 each year, 28.000 are fit for the army, and 16.000 serve military service. And that is more than enough to fill the army, which, including active members and mobilized reservists, numbers 140.000 people.
Grฤka
Greece has the strictest system of military service. The armed forces have around 47.000 recruits every year. Military service lasts 12 months, civil service 15 months. In the Aegean islands, the army serves for nine months. For example, young men in families with four or more children, top scientists and conscripts whose parents are over 70 years old serve for a shorter period of time.
Women, monks on Athos, single parents, fathers of three or more children and those who are medically unfit for military service are not eligible for military service.
Out of a total of 59.000 young people who come of age every year, 80 percent serve in the army, and 20 are unfit for the army, exempted from military duty and conscientious objectors.
Cyprus
Cyprus has a similar and strict system. There is no official data on how many recruits there are and what specific duties they perform. The northern part of the island has been under Turkish occupation for 50 years and therefore there is no relaxation. The National Guard of Cyprus has 12.000 soldiers, and every year 5.100 young men come of age.
Military service lasts 14 months and in exceptional cases due to health or family reasons it can be shorter. However, there is no data on how many are of military age and how many young people file conscientious objection to which they are entitled.
Turska
Although there is not much official data, officially mandatory military service in Turkey lasts 6 months. He serves in the army and in the Gendarmerie, which in peacetime is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After completing their service, conscripts transfer to the reserve or apply for a job in the army or gendarmerie.
Official data on the number of recruits is not available. Media estimates based on interviews with military officials say that there are about 200.000 recruits in the army at any given time. There is no information on how long he served in the Gendarmerie. The soldiers do not go on combat duty, that is, they do not participate in the battles against the Kurdish rebels.
Moldova
Although it has been working for several years to abolish the obligation to serve in the military, due to limited finances, Moldova still invites conscripts and has a military obligation.
Military service lasts 12 months and during the year 2023, about 2.750 Moldovans donned the uniform. Since every year 12.000 young people come of age, the fact is that the majority do not serve in the army and that in reality the army serves voluntarily.
Russia and Ukraine have the most rigid system
Russia and Ukraine have the most rigid system of military service, where mobilization is in force. In Russia, the majority of citizens have not yet been mobilized, and in Ukraine conscripts are prohibited from leaving the country.
All over Europe there are official and unofficial initiatives to restore the obligation to serve in the military or to increase the number of recruits. In Serbia, the official restoration of military service was proposed by the General Staff.
In Denmark, for example, right-wing parties are demanding that the number of conscripts be tripled, and in Germany and the Netherlands there is a debate to restore mandatory military service due to growing tensions in the world and insufficient interest in uniforms.
